Pick of the week
The Curse
Whitney and Asher Siegel (Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder) are a painfully earnest couple, trying to wrangle their patronising charity initiatives into a TV show with the help of Benny Safdie’s manipulative producer Dougie. Whitney’s prim blankness and Asher’s flashes of anger make them uneasy company from the start. When a girl puts a curse on Asher, things get weird. The Curse is a step on from the meta-cringe of Fielder’s last show The Rehearsal, which wallowed in awkwardness – but serious points are made here about gentrification, privilege and middle-class guilt. However, as a conversation about a small penis proves, cringe is never far away here either. Excellent.
Paramount+, from Saturday 11 November
***
The Crown
Spoiler: this isn’t going to end happily. Season five felt like a long-winded treading of water, but now the recent history of the Windsors reaches its most volatile moment as Princess Diana’s tryst with the tabloids reaches its tragic climax. Needless to say, it has already proved controversial, with newspapers feigning outrage at news of a scene in which Dominic West’s Prince Charles talks to the “ghost” of Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) – one wonders if they also pondered their own role in the events depicted. Elsewhere, expect teenage angst with Harry and William as this hugely successful series concludes.
Netflix, from Thursday 16 November
***
A Murder at the End of the World
When invited to a retreat at a remote location by a reclusive billionaire, it’s always best to exercise caution. Darby (Emma Corrin) forgets that golden rule in this new drama – and quickly pays the price as things turn bloody. Before long, she needs to unmask the killer to save her own life. It’s slick, stylish and violent but beneath the hi-tech trimmings and Bond villain vibes of the location, this is essentially a country house murder mystery. Think Poirot as reimagined by Nicolas Winding Refn and you’re in the right ballpark.
Disney+, from Tuesday 14 November
***
How to Become a Mob Boss
After applying the same darkly satirical treatment to cult leaders and tyrants, Netflix now turns its attention to mob bosses in this documentary series narrated by Peter Dinklage, using a mixture of interviews and animation to explore its subject. “We don’t just kill people,” says one mobster. “We see what the public wants and we give it to them.” This sounds innocuous enough until you consider that it can apply to anything from illicit booze during prohibition to crack cocaine in the 1980s. Messrs Gotti, Escobar and Capone are among the subjects.
Netflix, from Tuesday 14 November
***
Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story
Rising from the ashes of the Honda team that withdrew from Formula One racing after the global financial crisis, the story of Brawn GP is one of the oddest in recent sporting history. The team competed for one season (2009), during which it won both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. Then, it was gone; sold to Mercedes and rebranded. This documentary series is fronted by a fully engaged Keanu Reeves, who obviously has a genuine interest in the tale of that strange, glorious, controversial season and its intriguing aftermath.
Disney+, from Tuesday 15 November
***
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
This series marks a return to the source for Scott Pilgrim – after all, Edgar Wright’s 2010 cult comedy was adapted from a graphic novel series so an adult animation version seems appropriate. But does the film’s punkish surrealism survive the journey? Not entirely – the life-as-video-game conceit works well but the animated Scott lacks a little of the charm Michael Cera (on voice duties here) brought to the role. The story is basically the same: Scott plays bass in an indie band and cartoonishly confronts his dream girl Ramona’s villainous ex-boyfriends.
Netflix, from Friday 17 November
***
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Set half a century after the “G-Day” battle in San Francisco between Godzilla and the Titans, this big-budget fantasy drama sees two siblings dragged into the conspiratorial and shadowy world of monsters and monster hunters. At the heart of this realm is Kurt Russell’s army veteran Lee Shaw, who has devoted his life to monitoring the activities of a secretive organisation known as Monarch. But as Monarch starts to worry about being exposed, it seems Shaw and co will need a little help. Cue something vast and scaly rising from the deep.
Apple TV+, from Friday 17 November
